Soil fertility management practices.

Fairhurst, T.

doi:10.1079/9781780642857.0030

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…The MF field in the NGS was also characterised by poor drainage, which may have restricted nutrient availability and uptake by the crops. Soil organic C, total N and available P appeared to be sub-optimal for crop growth in all fields (Fairhurst, 2012). However, the deficiencies of total soil N and available P were most probably corrected by P application in both years, N application in year 1 and residual N benefits in year 2 (Table 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legume–maize Rotation or Relay? Options for Ecological Intensification of Smallholder Farms in the Guinea Savanna of Northern Ghana

et al. 2018

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SUMMARYSoil nutrient constraints coupled with erratic rainfall have led to poor crop yields and occasionally to crop failure in sole cropping in the Guinea savanna of West Africa. We explored different maize-grain legume diversification and intensification options that can contribute to mitigating risks of crop failure, increase crop productivity under different soil fertility levels, while improving soil fertility due to biological N 2 -fixation by the legume. There were four relay patterns with cowpea sown first and maize sown at least 2 weeks after sowing (WAS) cowpea; two relay patterns with maize sown first and cowpea sown at least 3 WAS maize in different spatial arrangements. These were compared with groundnut-maize, soybeanmaize, fallow-maize and continuous maize rotations in fields high, medium and poor in fertility at a site each in the southern (SGS) and northern (NGS) Guinea savanna of northern Ghana. Legumes grown in the poorly fertile fields relied more on N 2 -fixation for growth leading to generally larger net N inputs to the soil. Crop yields declined with decreasing soil fertility and were larger in the SGS than in the NGS due to more favourable rainfall and soil fertility. Spatial arrangements of relay intercrops did not have any significant impact on maize and legume grain yields. Sowing maize first followed by a cowpea relay resulted in 0.18-0.26 t ha −1 reduction in cowpea grain yield relative to cowpea sown from the onset. Relaying maize into cowpea led to a 0.29-0.64 t ha −1 reduction in maize grain yield relative to maize sown from the onset in the SGS. In the NGS, a decline of 0.66 and 0.82 t ha −1 in maize grain yield relative to maize sown from the onset was observed due to less rainfall received by the relay maize. Groundnut and soybean induced 0.38-1.01 t ha −1 more grain yield of a subsequent maize relative to continuous maize, and 1.17-1.71 t ha −1 more yield relative to relay maize across both sites. Accumulated crop yields over both years suggest that sowing maize first followed by cowpea relay is a promising ecological intensification option besides the more common legume-maize rotation in the Guinea savanna, as it was comparable with soybean-maize rotation and more productive than the other treatments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legume–maize Rotation or Relay? Options for Ecological Intensification of Smallholder Farms in the Guinea Savanna of Northern Ghana

et al. 2018

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“…On the other hand, even though organic inputs are able to increase crop productivity and maintain soil fertility, the limited supply cannot satisfy crop demand and their application requires much effort in terms of labor and time inputs (Pypers et al., 2012). Therefore, integrated soil fertility management (ISFM), combining the use of locally available organic inputs with judicious amounts of chemical fertilizer is the best-bet option for sustainable intensification of smallholder agriculture (Fairhurst, 2012; Sanginga and Woomer, 2009; Vanlauwe et al., 2010). ISFM is a flexible option based on principles, and is site-specific according to crop, farm conditions, landscape position, and seasons (Vanlauwe et al., 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cassava response to the integrated use of manure and NPK fertilizer in Zambia

Biratu

Elias

Ntawuruhunga³

et al. 2018

Heliyon

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Cassava is Africa's second most important food source in terms of calories consumed per capita. However, farmers use little or no fertilizer on cassava and scant information is available regarding the cassava yield response to mineral and organic fertilizer inputs in Zambia. This study was undertaken to determine the response of cassava to the integrated use of organic and inorganic nutrient sources in two contrasting agroecological zones of Zambia; Mansa located in Zone III and Kabangwe located in Zone II. The treatments consisted of a factorial combination of four NPK rates (unfertilized control, 50N-11P-41.5K, 100N-22P-83K, and 150N-33P-124.5K kg/ha) with four rates of chicken manure (0, 1.4, 2.8, and 4.2 t/ha). The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Cassava height, stem girth, canopy diameter, leaf area index, and chlorophyll index were monitored over time and roots were harvested at 12 months after planting (MAP). Growth parameters and yield varied significantly (p < 0.01) both with NPK, manure application, and their interaction effects at 12 MAP. The combined application of 4.2 t/ha of chicken manure and 100N-22P-83 K kg/ha of mineral fertilizer resulted in the highest yields of 35.2 t/ha at Kabangwe. But, the highest average yield of 34.4 t/ha was recorded with the application of 2.8 t/ha manure and 100N-22P-83 K kg/ha mineral fertilizer at Mansa. This increased treatment yield by 24 and 29% over the sole NPK fertilizer application at Mansa and Kabangwe sites, respectively. Harvest index (HI) was higher when 2.8 t/ha chicken manure was applied in combination with 50N-11P-41.5K kg/ha at Kabangwe. But, the highest HI at Mansa site was achieved with the combination of 2.8 t/ha manure and 100N-22P-83 K kg/ha. This combination also resulted in the highest agronomic efficiency of N, P and K at both sites. It is concluded that cassava productivity and nutrient use efficiency can be improved through the integrated use of NPK and manure in Zambia.

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“…However, vegetation cover within a locality ensures ecosystem sustainability and services such as prevention of soil erosion, reduction in soil and nutrient loss and the biogeochemical cycles [16]. According to Fairhurst [17], farming system in a broad sense encompasses all components of a field enterprise including cropland, cropping system, livestock, common grazing land and woodlots management.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GIS-based Characterization of Land Use, Land Cover Patterns and Microclimate of Agricultural and Agroforestry Landscapes in a Rainforest Zone of Nigeria

Abel,

Samuel

2024

IJECC

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There is increasing need for development of sustainable land use and landscape management practices to avert accelerating trends of land, water and ecosystem degradation and for climate mitigation. This study characterized land use and land cover patterns and microclimate of permanent (forest, agroforestry, fallow, cocoa, oil palm, citrus and ornamental plant field) and annual crop land use systems in a rainforest zone of Nigeria using space-based remote sensing technology. The goal is to evaluate land use and land cover patterns and microclimate along agricultural and agroforestry landscapes in a rainforest zone of Nigeria. Land use types were: permanent (forest, agroforestry, fallow, cocoa, oil palm, citrus and ornamental plant field) and annual cropland. Vegetation indices (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index: NDVI, Normalized Difference Water Index: NDWI and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index: SAVI) were deployed for characterizing land use vegetation cover patterns in relation to vigour and health in addition to responses to weather variables (temperature and rainfall). The NDVI intensities of vegetation cover from the land use types showed differences in vigour and health of vegetation during the rainy and dry seasons of 2017 to 2019. The NDWI of vegetation cover intensity indicates differences in moisture conditions of vegetation cover, the vegetation of the land use systems had more water content (received more rainfall) in 2017 compared to 2018 and 2019 during the rainy season while during the dry season of 2019, NDWI intensity was highest compare to 2018 and 2017. NDVI and NDWI also showed that vegetation cover of permanent land uses had better vigour and health compared to annual (maize) field. SAVI was applied to correct NDVI of vegetation cover patterns of land use types with reference to canopy gaps (soil brightness within canopy especially in spots where vegetation cover is sparse). High SAVI intensities were obtained during rainy compared to the low values during dry season (sparse vegetation cover). Decreasing order of SAVI intensities were agroforestry, oil palm, ornamental plant field, citrus, cocoa, fallow land and maize crop field. Result from the correlations among vegetation indices (NDVI, NDWI and DSAVI) were strong association (R2 = 1) among the years and seasons. The strong R2 values imply that less than 10% of changes in NDWI (the explanatory variables) can be explained by changes in NDVI and SAVI (the dependent variable). Temperature and rainfall differed within months and years of study. Temperatures were highest for March, April and May while rainfall was highest for September of 2017 and 2018 and in October, 2019. Significantly lower rainfall amounts were received for January, February, November and December. The vegetation indices (NDVI, NDWI and SAVI) indicated vigour and water contents of the land use types within seasons and years as well as responses to weather variables (rainfall and temperature in particular). The biophysical findings from this study may advance capacities to cope with climate change challenges and ecosystem conservation. Information generated will find use as strategies for ecologically sound and sustainable land use systems and policy for mainstreaming climate mitigation in in the study area.

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Soil fertility management practices.

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Legume–maize Rotation or Relay? Options for Ecological Intensification of Smallholder Farms in the Guinea Savanna of Northern Ghana

Legume–maize Rotation or Relay? Options for Ecological Intensification of Smallholder Farms in the Guinea Savanna of Northern Ghana

Cassava response to the integrated use of manure and NPK fertilizer in Zambia

GIS-based Characterization of Land Use, Land Cover Patterns and Microclimate of Agricultural and Agroforestry Landscapes in a Rainforest Zone of Nigeria

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